Waves – by Cara Potapshyn Meyers

Today is Sunday of Memorial Day weekend. My seventeenth wedding anniversary. I’m at a fairly well known Beach Resort, Gurney’s Inn, located in Montauk, Long Island. I came to escape any thoughts about my wedding anniversary and wouldn’t you know it; There is a wedding taking place right at this moment. Even the weather is mirroring my wedding day. So much for escaping memories of my own wedding.

In any event, I am still enjoying myself. Walks on the beach, lots of alone time, gourmet dinners (thus the need for walks on the beach), and a massage scheduled for tomorrow. Not too shabby for a weekend to “get away.”

Since I am here at the beach, I can’t help but be mesmerized by the ocean – the waves in particular. Taking note of their majestic power. I can also identify myself and my life in those waves.

When you first see one developing in the distance, you immediately wonder how powerful it will turn out to be. Sometimes it will slowly diminish into a subtle cascade of foamy water. Other times, a wave will come smashing down into a white, explosive crash, eventually dying down into a calm, pool of water, tickling your toes. If you are lucky, it will leave you a treasure in it’s wake.

My life mirrors these waves. There have been times when I see the rolling wave in the distance and wonder, “Should I prepare myself for a rolling crash or is this one I can manage pretty easily?” Of course with the rough ones, all you can do is take a deep breath and roll with the current until it’s upheaval finally lets go of you. The very calm, mild ones produce no fear. At most, they tickle your toes with their coolness. Once your toes get used to the coolness, all you have to do is relish their beauty.

My entire life has been a series of waves, as many of yours have probably been. What I find interesting is that we can’t get enough of them. Waves, that is. You stand at the shoreline, or actually in the water, and marvel at the awe inspiring beauty of it all. Perhaps, we should do the same with our own lives. Be aware of what may be ominously approaching, remain calm and in control of what is manageable, and luxuriate in the bliss of the calm, foamy water washing over us with the mild ones. Like being exactly in the present moment.

So few of us live in the present moment. It is truly rejuvenating for so may of us Moms. Maybe that is why so many stress relieving professionals tell us to imagine being at the ocean and listening to the sound of the waves. And why almost every “sound machine” contains an option for “ocean sound.” The sound alone brings us into the present moment. Right now, writing this blog, I know it is late afternoon or early evening because the sun is beginning to set. But I couldn’t tell you the exact time, and that is exactly how I want it. Living in the present moment.

Tomorrow I have a scheduled massage. After that heavenly experience, I have no plans. I am just going to take my time doing whatever pleases me, moment to moment. I think so many Moms, especially later Moms, need to make a concerted effort to get their own needs met. Be it an uninterrupted bath, pedicure, massage or just finding an ocean to go to and spend a half hour just listening to the waves. Close your eyes; are the waves roaring, are they tenuous, maybe they are calm. Be in the present moment. This is time for you.

I try to go to the beach as often as my schedule allows. At worst, I set my sound machine to ocean sounds and listen to the waves. In minutes, I am back to the spot I am right this moment. Content, happy, reliving my life through the waves. If they weren’t so cold, I’d almost be tempted to catch one!